Drawn into Politics: A Selection of Political Cartoons from the Print and Picture Collection

With the 2012 presidential campaign in full swing, the Print and Picture Collection would like to pay homage to all the witty cartoons used to illustrate the United States’ whole political system. Cartoonists express their opinions and ideas so effectively. Whether rallying for or railing against the system, they make strong statements about the political machine. There have always been cartoonists illustrating key moments in our nation’s history, including the founding of the United States, several wars, financial crises, and other critical events. Although our collection does not represent recent political cartoonists’ work, the cartoons in this exhibition will resonate with contemporary audiences not only because of their timeless themes, but also because Signe Wilkinson, Philadelphia Daily News’s Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist, has provided some of her current, incredibly insightful cartoons for the exhibition. Additionally, there is a Political Cartooning exhibition and more images accessible through the Free Library of Philadelphia’s digital collections at freelibrary.org.